The owner of the Uyo Cybercrime Training Center, Ikemesit Edet, sometimes referred to as Hustle Kingdom (HK), has been found guilty and sentenced by the Uyo Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Edet was jailed on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, after pleading guilty to two-count charges pertaining to impersonation, love scams, hacking/editing of social media accounts, and private criminal tutoring. This was announced in a statement released on Saturday by EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale. Edet was arraigned by the Uyo Zonal Command of the Commission.
Count one reads: “That you IKEMESIT EDET IK sometime in January, 2024 in Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honorable court, being the occupier and a person concerned with the management of the premises situates and lying at No. 57 D-Line, Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo Akwa Ibom State, did knowingly permit the use of the entire aforesaid premises as a CYBERCRIME ACADEMY, also known as Hustle Kingdom (HK) where you recruited ten (10) young Nigerians between ages 16-25 and taught them cybercrime techniques for perpetrating cyber crimes to wit: hacking, impersonation, and obtaining money by false pretence (Advance Fee Fraud) and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 3 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 3 of the same Act.”
Count two reads: “That you IKEMESIT EDET IK between May 2020 and December 2023 in Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court did take possession total sum of Fifteen Million Naira Only (-N=15,000,000.00) which you knew forms proceed of an unlawful act to wit: Cybercrime and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)\d) of the Money laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022 and punishable under Section 18(3) of the same Act.”
When Edet entered a guilty plea to both charges, Joshua Abolarin, the prosecution’s attorney, prayed for Edet’s conviction and sentencing.
Additionally, Abolarin asked the court to decree that any and all exhibits taken from him at the time of his arrest be forfeited.
Francis Ezike, the defendant’s defense attorney, asked the court to be forgiving in the defendant’s punishment.
Following his hearing from the attorneys, Justice Ojukwu found Edet guilty on all counts and sentenced him to five years in prison, with the possibility of a N2 million fine.
The court further mandated that the Federal Government of Nigeria lose any exhibits that were recovered from the convicted party.
The exhibits include: 13 laptops, a gold- coloured Toyota Corolla, a Lexus Jeep RX 300 and about 3,080.25 square metres of land located at Ibiaku Obio Ndobo village, Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
Edet’s journey to jail commenced on January 22, 2024, when investigators from the EFCC’s office in Uyo acted on intelligence and arrested 10 suspects at his Cybercrimes Training Centre at D-Line Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo.
All the suspects have been charged to court and convicted.
